New York Mets Option Top Prospect To Minors

The No. 3 prospect in all of baseball, and the New York Mets' top prospect, will start the 2023 season in the minors. The Mets on Wednesday morning have optioned catcher Francisco Alvarez to Triple-A.

Mets have optioned Francisco Alvarez to Triple-A.

— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) March 22, 2023

It's a blow to the young backstop, who had every intention of breaking camp with the team. But the 21-year-old struggled this spring, hitting just .107 in camp (3-for-28), with no home runs, one RBI and a near-invisible .301 OPS. His defense was passable, which was one of the main issues coming into spring. 

Alvarez got a taste of big league ball last September, in five games with the Mets, during which he hit a home run and a double as his only two hits. He even got an at-bat in the Wild Card Series. 

The exciting young prospect hit 27 homers with an .885 OPS over 112 games in the upper minors last season, and will try to get back to that type of production.

Omar Narváez and Tomás Nido will platoon behind the plate to begin the season, and if Alvarez gets his bat going in a big way at AAA, he could be back before long. 

Photo: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports